Program helps Congo families protect endangered gorillas

By CHRISTINA LARSON
AP Science Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Critically endangered Grauer’s gorillas live outside national parks, so conservationists are working with communities in Congo to try to protect the animals. The population of Grauer’s gorillas has declined 60% in the past two decades, largely due to habitat loss and hunting. An estimated 3,800 to 6,800 individuals remain. A 2016 law allows communities in Congo to apply for rights to manage their traditional lands. The nonprofit Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund has helped communities in eastern Congo complete that paperwork and entered into agreements with families to provide assistance and training for the sustainable management of their lands.